"Wetting Agents On Tap For 2011"

A Wetting Agent program has been put in place for the 2011 season. The Wetting Agents will be applied to greens and fairways once a month beginning in April and ending in September. This program will allow us to manage our water output while helping improve the capabilities of the soil to use water efficiently for the turf.

The golf course at Crofton is built mostly upon sandy soils. The particles of sand in a sandy soil have a reputation of developing water repellancy due to a wax like substance that coats each particle. This waxy substance has fungi properties which cause the soil in localized spots to become hydrophobic, or the inability of water to flow through the soil into the root zone allowing the turf plants to use the water efficiently. The turf in these spots wilts and thins out during stress periods of heat and drought due to lack of water for the roots to absorb.

Hydrophobic soils are difficult to wet because they repel water. The infiltration of water into these soils can often be improved by applying a non ionic surfactant, more commonly known as a Wetting Agent. Wetting Agents are detergent-like substances that are applied in a spray solution to reduce surface tension of water, allowing it to penetrate and wet the soil more easily.

The explanation for hydrophobic soils developing is explained as there are three forces that affect the movement of water into the soil. The first force is Gravity, or the constant force that pulls water downward. The second force is Cohesion, or the attraction of water molecules for each other that holds a droplet of water together. Cohesion creates a water droplet's surface tension. The third and final force is Adhesion, the attraction of water molecules to other substances. Adhesion is what causes water to adhere to soil particles. When the Adhesive forces between water molecules and an object are weaker than the Cohesive forces between water molecules, the soil surface repels water and is said to be a hydrophobic soil.

An area of turf that has hydrophobic soil is also known as Localized Dry Spot (LDS). These spots can easily be identified during the summer months due to turf wilting, changing in color, or dying due to insufficient moisture. Non ionic surfactants when applied by spraying on these areas reduce the surface tension of water, allowing the water molecules to spread out and penetrate the surface of the soil. This allows for consistent moisture levels throughout a putting green or fairway, providing a healthy turf covering the entire area for maximum playing conditions.

Applying Wetting Agents on a monthly basis during the 2011 season will help us be more successful at keeping moisture levels consistent throughout the course. A uniform moisture pattern in the root zones of the soil will allow for fewer spots of thinning turf during the summer stress periods. LDS has been a problem in the recent past at Crofton, and with our plan of attack in place for 2011, our goal is to eliminate as many of these spots as possible to provide a better conditioned course.


* "Soil Facts- Using Wetting Agents" www.soil.ncsu.edu

Why is the Course Closed on a 50 Degree Day?

The alternate freezing and thawing, along with intermittent wetting and drying of the soil on a bent grass putting green during the winter months is detrimental in many ways. These conditions produce a soil of a crumb structure, when this happens contraction and expansion take place. The resulting pressure separates the soil particles and fills the top layer of the surface with numerous pore spaces.

The paragraph above states an agronomic explanation which probably doesn't make a lot of sense to the golfer or someone who is not a golf course superintendent. So the question to be answered here is this. How does winter play affect the course conditions, so that ideal conditions may not be achieved when the spring season arrives?

The answer to this question in simple terms is this. The foot traffic of players over a small area such as a putting green develops surface compaction when the top layer is not frozen solid like the remainder of the soil is. A compacted surface layer of soil prevents the easy flow of food, water, and air into the lower soil regions where roots normally grow. When the growing season arrives in spring, the roots of the plants will not grow in soils where the natural channels and voids that have been destroyed by the compressing and crushing action of foot traffic on the thawed top layer of soil. Where there is no air there are no plant roots and thus there can be no turf.

The obvious reasons that most people understand are that ball marks on greens at this time make terrible scars and provide bumpy putting conditions as well as the indention from footprints. The underlying reasons of what was discussed above is that compaction and good golf turf just don't go together. However, let it be known that if the entire soil profile including the top layer is completely frozen no damage can occur, and in these conditions the course will be open for the brave souls who want to take on the cold temperatures while playing.

So when the course is temporarily closed during the winter it is done with the future in mind. If the course is not closed during the unfavorable conditions, the greens will be injured to the point where it will be impossible to provide good playing conditions for the remainder of the playing season. So why should the wishes of a few golfers wanting to play during the cold winter months interfere with the conditions for many golfers later on in the season? The answer to this question should be something to keep in mind.

"* USGA Journal and Turf Management source cited."

Breaking Down & Rebuilding "Reels"

During the winter months, our mechanic is busy in the shop making sure that the equipment is ready to go for the season of 2011. The first job to be completed is a breakdown and rebuild of each cutting unit reel for the greens, tees, and fairway mowers. This is a very detailed procedure and takes plenty of time and experience to make sure all parts involved are prepared for the everyday use they will receive when the season begins.

All Rollers that are attached to the cutting unit are taken off, bearings are replaced, and regreased.

The counter weights are taken off as well, and given a fresh coat of paint. New bed knives are installed and given a new cutting edge by a grinder. The exterior of the bed knives and shields are given a fresh coat of paint also.

The cutting reel is also put on a grinder so that each blade is given a sharp edge so that all grass will be cut and not torn. The rollers, shields, counter weights, and bed knives are reassembled to produce a completed cutting unit that is ready for the 2011 season.

The process above must be completed 5 times to make up a "set" of reels for 1 fairway mower. The reels and bed knives are sharpened when needed throughout the season to maintain an excellent cut. However, the bearings in the rollers and the reels are only replaced during the winter.

Hexagon Plugging To Thin Spots on #7 green

During the months of November and December, hexagon plugs were placed in the thin spots on #7 green to promote healing into the spring. These plugs were taken from the back edges of the greens and transplanted into areas where turf was needed. This will aid in speeding up the progress of "filling in" the thin areas on the greens surface.

Hex plugs were also used on greens #6, #9, and #17.

This is what the areas will look like after growing conditons allow the turf spread. We also follow up with 2 to 3 topdressing applications to smooth and level any indescrepancies on the surface of the green.

Bermuda Grass Approach on #9

The Summer of 2010 was one for the history books of weather. Extreme humidity and extreme temperatures that occured from the months of late June into mid September was just too much for turf in some areas of the course. A particular area of the course that really stood out where this happened, is the fairway/approach on hole #9. This area has a history of staying wet longer than other areas, so the old drainage was removed, and new drain pipes and pattern were installed.

This area also receives full sunlight for the majority of the day. The long hours of sunlight as well as the wet conditions that existed, made it impossible for the cool season turf that was there to survive in summer stress periods.

The approach area on this hole was determined as a microclimate within the golf course, therefore we decided to install the warm season bermudagrass, which will thrive in this area. This will correct the problem of playing conditions declining during the summer months.

Winter Maintenance For Irrigation System

Once again it is that time of year to make sure last years water is out of the irrigation system in preparation for the long cold months ahead. The actual pump station has been shut down and winterized since the middle of November. This operation is completed by a contractor mechanic who specializes in maintaining the pump station.
However, the irrigation lines on the golf course and the valves that control the water flow thru these lines are winterized by the maintenance staff. We do this by pressurizing the system with high pressured air supplied by a compressor. Below are a couple of pictures explaining this process.



This is the compressor that is rented for the day to perform the blowout of residual water in the irrigation lines. All valves are opened so that air can freely flow throughout the lines pressurizing the system with air instead of water, so that irrigation heads can be activated to release the water within the lines.

The compressor's air hose is connected into a hose adapting port that is used for the retrieval of water during the season, but used to pump air into the lines this time of year during the blowout operation. When the lines are fully pressurized with air, the irrigation heads are manually turned on one hole at a time until water stops appearing from each individual head on each particular hole. This operation usually takes 8 hours to perform, by starting with the practice area, and then going #1 thru #18 with the activation of irrigation heads.

This is a picture i snapped this morning on December 13th, showing the scene at the clubhouse and practice green. This is just a reminder that winter is here, but hopefully this scene will not appear as many times as it did last year!

"Winter Work"

With Leave cleanup at a minimum now, and cold winter temperatures arriving early in December, our focus has turned to improving conditions for the 2011 season. Underbrushing of tree lines, limbing the lower branches on larger trees, and the removal of dead trees are on going. We have started with hole #11, because of where this operation concluded on #10 the previous winter. We will continue this for holes #12 thru #18 as mother nature and time permits. The pictures below show this work, as well as some detail cleanup we have completed with ornamental beds throughout the property.

The ornamental beds around the clubhouse area have been cleaned of leaves and debris, producing a clean appearance when arriving. The ornamental beds on the golf course are in the process of being completed as well.

All trees along the right side and behind #11 green have been limbed, producing a higher canopy so that air can move freely across the surface of the green.

We have started the underbrushing and limbing operations beginning with the right side of #11. Our goal is to improve the air movement for the turf in the fairway, as well as improve the overall aesthetics of the hole.